In general, inkjet printing machines or printers include at least one printhead that ejects drops or jets of liquid ink onto a recording or image forming surface. An aqueous inkjet printer employs water-based or solvent-based inks in which pigments or other colorants are suspended or in solution. Once the aqueous ink is ejected onto an image receiving surface by a printhead, the water or solvent is evaporated to stabilize the ink image on the image receiving surface.
When aqueous ink is ejected directly onto media, the aqueous ink tends to soak into the media when it is porous, such as paper, and change the physical properties of the media. Because the spread of the ink droplets striking the media is a function of the media surface properties and porosity, the print quality will be inconsistent. To address this issue, coating systems have been developed that apply a coating to the media prior to the media being directly printed. While these coatings help make the media more water resistant without adversely impacting the ability of the media to hold the aqueous ink, they do have drawbacks. Because the coatings are applied at a low viscosity state, they contain a significant amount of water. In order to enable the media to regain its properties for printing, the water in the coating needs to be dried before the printing commences. This drying requires large dryers that generate intense heat and consume significant amounts of energy. Preparation of media with coatings appropriate for aqueous ink printing without consuming large quantities of energy to dry the coatings would be beneficial.